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Synopsis:
It starts with
screams in the
dark in true
Shan style as
the priestess
Bec enters the
world to battle
the hoards of
Demonata
threatening to
break through
into our world
and destroy
everything.
Review:
The fourth title
in Darren Shan’s
Demonata series.
Another romp
with the
Demonata
featuring a few
familiar faces,
interesting
facts revealed
and a very Shan
ending.
Bec is a
priestess born
in Celtic
Ireland
(although it
never confirms
this in the text
- I guessed
Scotland). For a
few years now
wild and crude
demons have been
attacking,
forcing humans
to build walls
around their
villages and
spend sleepless
nights watching
for danger. But
is it their
imagination or
are the attacks
getting worse?
More
co-ordinated and
intelligent?
A druid
arrives on a
quest to end the
threat of the
demons forever
but he needs
help. An
unlikely bunch
set out to find
a metaphysical
tunnel that
allows the
demons in, and
it’s getting
bigger. To save
the world they
must close the
tunnel and
quickly before
the really big,
bad demons can
get through. But
at what cost?
Another
typically
Shan-ish title
in this
developing saga
with gore and
death and
unpredictable
twists. This is
the first book
written by Shan
(to my
knowledge) in
the voice of a
girl and I was
mightily
impressed with
the skill of it.
Never did I
think he put a
word or thought
wrong in her
female head. I
have to say that
this book was
definitely the
most poetic of
those I’ve read,
with some
descriptions
worthy of Keats!
Whether this was
the off-shoot of
trying to sound
like a girl or
the development
of his writing,
I can’t say.
Also after the
initial
blood-fests of
book one and
two, books three
and four are
relatively tame
I feel. And,
similar to book
two, I did get a
bit bored with
the wandering
around bits,
where we marched
through
countryside not
getting very
far, very fast
(at least in
book two we
changed
scenery). Sadly,
being a girl who
likes her
horror, by the
end I was
starting to feel
a bit
unsatisfied but
the final pages
were a welcome
return to the
terrifying drama
I love Shan for.
Worth the
read but I don’t
think you’ll
have too much
trouble sleeping
afterward.
Recommended for
11+ with a taste
for the darker
things in life.
http://www.writeaway.org.uk/component/option,com_mtree/task,viewlink/link_id,810/Itemid,/ |
